Apparatus for distilling wood-alcohol and other products.



B. R. & M. J. LYSTBR. APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING WOOD ALCOHOL AND OTHER.PRODUCTS. APPLICATION FILED 11113.25, 1909.

941,641 Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE BENTON R. LYSTER AND MORTON J. LYSTER, 0FWHITEFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING WOOD-ALCOHOL AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

Application filed March 25, 1909. Serial No. 485,657. i

To all whom it may concern:

3e rt known that we. linx'rox R. LYS'IER and Mon'rox J. Lvs'rnn,citizens of the l nited States, and residents of l/VhitefieldQ in thecounty of Coos and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatus for Distillin, lVood-Alcohol and otherProducts, of which the 't'ollowing is a specification.

()ur inventionrelates to the apparatus used for distilling wood alcohol,etc., and has for its object the provision of apparatus that will savethe cost of fuel necessary to operate the stills used to distil alcohol,acetic acid, etc.. from the crude pyroligneous acid.

In wood reduction plants as at present operated the crude pyroligneousacid is extracted by placing the wood in an oven and drawing ed thevapor tl'irough a neck to the emalenser. The crude pyroligneous acid isthen placed in a still and its temperature raised to a vaporizing heatby means of a steam-coil. In ounim n'oved apparatus .the still is placedin the neck connecting the oven and the condenser, so as to utilize theheat of the vapor passing through the neck to the condenser tovolatilize the acid therein and save the cost of the fuel needed toraise the temperature of the contents of the still by a steam-coil.

()ur inventiol'r also contemplates the improvement of the still byproviding tubes under the distilling chamber and communicating therewithto hold the acid and to increase the surface subjected to the action ofthe vapor passing from the oven-to the condenser, the lower ends of saidtubes being connected by'pipes and provided with an outlet to draw offthe tar and heavy oils "from time to time and after distillation. Theneck is also provided with a depression under the still to catch any tarthat may be released from the vapor by the cooling incident to contactwith the still, said depression being also provided with a valve to drawoff the tar from time to time.

The construction and operation of our inmroved apparatus will bedescribed in detail hereinafter and illustrated in the acct'anpanyingdrawings. in whicli-- Figure l is a. side view showing the oven andcondenser and the. neck and still in section; Fig. 52, a top plan view;and Fig. 3,

an end view of the still with the neck shown in section.

In the. drawings similar reference characters indicate correspondingparts in the several views. 7

A indicates the oven, B the condenser and C the neck connecting the ovenand the condenser. The vapor caused by burning the wood in oven A passesthrough neck 0 and is condensed in condenser 13 in the form ofpyroligneous acid and heavy oils, tar, etc. The acid has heretofore beenplaced in a still heated by a steam-coil and the acid volatilized toseparate the spirits, acetic acid, and other products therefrom. Asstated, this operation required the use of fuel to create the steamnecessary to run the stills and added to the cost of the productssecured.

Cur improved apparatus consists in placing the still 1 in the neck (1and providing tubes 2 tapped into its bottom and having their lower endsconnected by pipes 3 with a draw-0ft outlet 4, connected therewith, andprovided with a valve 5.

6 indicates the condenser for the products of still 1, and is connectedtherewith by means of the neck 7. It will be understood that thepyroligneous acid in the still 1 will enter tubes '2 and pipes 3 and thevapors passing through the neck C will heat said contents so as tovolatilize the acid and the alcohol and other products will pass oflinto the condenser 6, the heavier parts of the acid settling into thepipes 3, when they can be withdrawn through outlet-pipe 4. It will beapparent that the reduction of the temperature of the vapor in neck C bycontacting with the still 1, tubes 2 and pipes 3 will cause aprecipitation of the heavy oils and tar and to catch these we providethe neck with a depression 8 under the still, and also provide a nozzle9 to draw off said heavy oils and tar when desired. By thus removingsome ofthe heavy products from the vapor before reaching the condenserit will be apparent that the condenser is relieved of the heat thereof,and the condenser is therefore kept cooler for the lighter vapors thatpass the still and enter it.

10 indicates a steam-coil in the bottom of the condensing chamber of thestill 1 that is connected with any suitable boiler (not shown) by meansof supply pipes 11, that is used to raise the temperature of the stillwhen sufiicient heat is not created by the vapor in neck C or to theexclusion of the heat of the vapor when the oven is not in operation.

Having thus described our invention, what We claim is In combinationwith the oven, condenser, and neck of a wood-distilling apparatus, astill mounted in the neck of the apparatus and having a plurality oftubes secured in its bottom and extending downwardly therefrom to holdthe contents of the still, the

endsof said tubes being connected by pipes, a draw-off tube connectedwith said pipes, the neck provided with a depression under said still tocatch the heavy oils precipitated by the cooling of the vapors incontacting with the still, and a nozzle tapped into said depression todraw off its contents, substan- 20 tially as shown and described.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in presence ofsubscribing witmesses.

BENTON R. LYSTER. MORTON J. LYSTER.

VVit-nesses:

W. M. BROWN, J. H. 1300mm, 0. N. WHITE, E. M. BOWKER.

